A ‘superstar’ of biologic drug development

Editor's note: In honor of Women's History Month, we're bringing you stories of the women who shaped NPF's past.

Alice Gottlieb, M.D., Ph.D. was one of the first scientists to prove that psoriasis involved the immune system. Her research provided the foundation for biologic drug development in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

“She’s a superstar,” said Mark Lebwohl, M.D., chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. “Many of the new drugs that have been developed would not exist were it not for her persistence in convincing the pharmaceutical industry that this was a disease worth treating.

“She really opened the field in terms of defining the work that identified the specific part of the immune system responsible for psoriasis. It came out of her lab.”

Gottlieb developed an interest in science when she was very young. Among her inspirations was her mother, who lived with psoriasis. Decades later, when her mother developed psoriatic arthritis, Gottlieb was able to prescribe Enbrel (etanercept) for her – a medicine she helped to develop.

Gottlieb is the chair of dermatology and Dermatologist-in-Chief at Tufts Medical Center and the Harvey B. Ansell Professor of Dermatology at Tufts University School of Medicine. She has served on NPF’s Medical Board since 1990. In 2018, NPF presented her with a much-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award.

For more than 50 years, we’ve been driving efforts to cure psoriatic disease and improve the lives of those affected. But there’s still plenty to do! Learn how you can help our advocacy team shape the laws and policies that affect people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis – in your state and across the country. Help us raise funds to support research by joining Team NPF, where you can walk, run, cycle, play bingo or create your own fundraising event. If you or someone you love needs free, personalized support for living a healthier life with psoriatic disease, contact our Patient Navigation Center. And keep the National Psoriasis Foundation going strong by making a donation today. Together, we will find a cure.